Holy robin trap Batman!

[Matt Meerian] introduced us to his kludge of cardboard, tape, mirrors, and electronics in the form of a clever non lethal robin trap. Whenever a pesky robin would enter the box, a sensor is triggered, the solenoid drops a lid, and the bird is contained (and we assume taken far away after that).

Of course the plan backfired; we wont spoil what happened, but you can click the link above to find out.

The trap has a special feature. It comes with a hairless ape. The ape is programmed to occasionally check the contents of the box. If it is determined that the box does not contain the offending robin but rather some other bird, the ape releases it and resets the trap until the robin is captured. I suggest that all contraptions come with a hairless ape. They’re versatile devices.

The American Robin is a known reservoir (carrier) for West Nile Virus. … the American Robin is suspected to be a key host and holds a larger responsibility for the transmission of the virus to humans. … the American Robin survives the virus longer, hence spreading it to more mosquitoes which then transmit the virus to humans and other species.

Robins: Latin name: Turdus migratorius — for the first part alone, it deserves removal from the protected species list.

Am I wrong or is the resistor (R3) on the gate of the MOSFET (U3*) unnecessary? BJTs need series resistors on the base to limit base current, but I don’t believe MOSFETs do, since the gate is extremely high-impedance and operates on voltage, not current.